Healthcare Benchmarks and Quality Improvement Archives – March 1, 2005
March 1, 2005
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Don’t let obsession with numbers take your eyes off your goals
At first glance, the proliferation of comparative databases for benchmarking activities may be a good thing, and of course, it always helps to have more data, but benchmarking experts warn there can be too much of a good thing especially if it causes you to lose perspective. -
Blood glucose monitoring slashes mortality rates
A protocol of intensive monitoring and treatment to maintain proper blood glucose levels in all intensive care unit (ICU) patients at The Stamford (CT) Hospital reduced mortality rates by 29% and length of stay in the ICU by nearly 11%. -
Universal protocol cuts hip surgery fatalities
The determination that good is not good enough has spurred Staten Island (NY) Universitys medical staff to develop a new, universal protocol to reduce the mortality rate for high-risk patients undergoing hip fracture repairs. As a result, mortality rates decreased 80% over three years from 4.9% to 1%. -
33% of fatal med errors involve insulin therapy
Spurred by studies indicating that 33% of the medical errors that caused death within 48 hours of the error involved insulin therapy, the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) and the American College of Endocrinology brought together national and international thought leaders in patient safety in endocrinology and metabolic disorders for a consensus conference on Jan. 9-10, 2005, to develop concrete solutions to avoid systemic errors in patient care, focusing on endocrine disorders such as diabetes, osteoporosis, and thyroid disorders. -
Know differences between kids and adults: Cut errors
Kids really are different from adults, and recognizing those differences can help lower the rate of errors for the youngest patients, advises Donna Woods, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow at the Institute for Health Services Research and Policy Studies in the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago. -
Consumer coalition sets performance guidelines
A common coalition of more than 25 of the nations leading consumer, employer, and labor organizations called the Consumer-Purchaser Disclosure Project has unveiled guidelines to promote rapid, industrywide adoption of performance measures to help patients compare the relative quality and cost of care provided by the nations hospitals, physicians, and health care systems. -
‘Quality Plus’ gains 39 early participants
The Washington, DC-based National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) says that 39 health plans nationwide, collectively covering more than 11.5 million Americans, have committed to undergo surveys under the first of set of NCQAs new Quality Plus standards Member Connections. -
News Briefs
President Bush, emphasizing the benefits of health information technology during a recent visit to the Cleveland Clinic, announced that his fiscal year 2006 budget proposal will include $125 million for demonstration projects to test the effectiveness of health IT and allow for widespread adoption in the health care field.